Flower Maiden
by Kasumi Sakurai
Summary: Clorith semiAU. When Cloud is ordered to capture young Cetra Aerith, he sees it as just another job. But when he falls in love with her, he is forced to face a serious choice Cloud is a ruthless assassin and has never failed a job before...


**flower maiden » final fantasy vii cloud x aerith.**

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**chapter one: the chase**

I kind of felt like doing a semi-AU, so I made this. Rejoice! You get two fanfictions at the same time, with hopefully frequent updates. 3 Reviews are welcomed! If it seems familiar, it's because it was up before, but it was poorly presented, so I removed it and then edited it and did a few changes.

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**Chapter Notes**: Just to warn you, this fiction takes place a few weeks after Advent Children, I'd say. I'm not really sure how old Tseng was supposed to be in the game, but I'll say he's about twenty-five to thirty now. I'm also not sure as to how old Aerith was when Elmyra found her, but let's say before she was six.

**Disclaimer**: Nope, I still don't own Final Fantasy, Square Enix or any of its characters! ;;

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A tall figure sat crouched under the table, transfixed with fear. Intelligent yet tortured emerald eyes gazed out, wide and unblinking. However, they did not shed tears. She never cried. Long dark brown bangs hung from the side of her head, the rest of her hair tied with a large salmon ribbon, so big that it stuck out from the sides of her head. However, this only enhanced her rich beauty. At the back, the tied plait would surely fall down past the waist were she standing.

KNOCK. KNOCK.

The young woman shuddered with fear. Her fists were clenched with rage, white and tight. Suddenly, another woman walked slowly from the stairs, with looks similiar to the other, but with darker hair, brown eyes and faded prettiness. Her face was wrinkled with pain, but she did not look that much older than the one under the table, other than ten or fifteen years. She was Elmyra; and the other was her foster daughter, Aerith.

KNOCK. KNOCK.

Her pace quickened, and she was soon passing the table that Aerith currently resided under. Aerith opened her mouth, but no words erupted. Instead, her face hung in the air, tormented with rage and concealed pain. But it was nothing compared to the agony displayed on her mother's face.

" Miss Gainsborough, we know you're in here. We do not wish to hurt you, " a familiar deep male voice floated through the wood, and Aerith swore she could hear something beyond his words, was it sympathy... or even longing? But then again, he was a Turk. Anything was possible with a Turk. He could easily just be faking it. He was not the man she used to know.

Elmyra's hand quivered, raised, stopped, and then slowly opened the door. Three men were on the other side, all of them bulky and much bigger. The two behind... Aerith knew they were SOLDIER first class, as they bore the uniform of the strongest within Shin-Ra's army. Despite herself, the young maiden smirked. They really thought she was dangerous, huh? Or maybe they thought she could put up a good fight. Aerith's eyes narrowed, but she gave away nothing to her location. However, with a sinking feeling, she realized that Tseng - the man who had spoken - would know. He knew everything about her... as she did to him. She wished she was still the boy she knew from her childhood.

" You're not getting me, never! " she suddenly cried, her voice sharp and full of anger. Tseng's eyebrows narrowed, but then rose, his face completely calm and composed.

" Aerith... you're special. You're an 'Ancient'. We at Shin-Ra only want to help you... "

" Ha! "

Aerith's voice was full of forced mirth. She knew that Tseng had known about her being on of the Cetra since they were about five. He had always known that there was something about her that wasn't normal, but he was never envious, nor avoidant. He had always admired her for it. But now he was against her. Aerith wished for a world of peace, and often did.

However, something caught her eyes. Tseng had fallen silent, but he was talking to Elmyra again. But Elmyra's right hand behind her back made a desperate movement; pointing upwards sharply. At once Aerith caught her meaning, and swiftly began backing away from under the table. Tseng started to push Elmyra aside, but Aerith was already flooding up the stairs, and opening the upstairs window. She had done it countless times, and every time Tseng forgot about her escape path over the roof.

" Aerith" Tseng called, his voice full of exhasperation as if to a young child running away from dinner. Elmyra wondered whether Tseng really was a completely changed man. She had known him as a youngster, and remembered when little Tseng had come to have tea with them...

Looking up between tears, she realized that Tseng had gone with his SOLDIERs. Full of fear for Aerith, she closed the door slowly. It wasn't that she thought she wouldn't escape, but... she knew that she wouldn't change. At least she was full of confidence that Aerith would never allow herself to fall into Shin-Ra clutches without putting up a good fight beforehand.

Racing across the roof, Aerith was perfectly trained to know the way of the tops, as she had left her home many times, but not always to flee from Shin-Ra. She knew that it was only because of these talents that she was alive.

She never turned back to wonder whether they were still following her. All she could hear was the blood roaring in her eyes, but she still did not cry.

The next thing she knew, she was being violently grabbed from behind. Gasping with fear, Aerith turned around, but she was now being pushed against a tree, and felt herself be thumped in the stomach in such a way that she fell to her knees, winded. As she looked up, all she saw were two fierce blue eyes, so bright that she knew they weren't natural.

Then it all went black..


End file.
